Silmarils 1994
Genre: RPG
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Silmarils could not find a worse time to release Ishar III. 1994 was a year when highly anticipated sequels were battling surprise hits, and Ishar III was neither. On one side you've had games like Ultima VII, which was so massive that Origin split it in several parts, Dungeon Master II, one of the most anticipated RPGs of all times, Might and Magic: World of Xeen, arguably the best M&M game, and Wizardry VI, with a new graphics engine. On the other side, you've had several surprise hits, which became cult games by now: Lands of Lore: Throne of Chaos and System Shock. Somewhere in the middle, there were the underdogs: Ishar III and Realms of Arkania II. Both games were the sequels of rather obscure series, published by rather obscure companies. Silmarils is a French company, which had a moderate success in Europe, but is unknown in the US. Sir-Tech, while well known, based its Realms of Arkania series on the Das Schwarze Auge German role-playing series (editor's note: that series was made by Attic and only published by Sir-Tech in the USA -Mr Creosote). It comes like a surprise that among such an exquisite company, Ishar III is still alive. In fact, it is shining.

New World Computing 1990
Genre: Strategy, RPG
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Until this day, King's Bounty remains one of my favorite games. Offering rather limited gameplay but enormous replay value, the game has never left my hard drive, ever since I have gotten it in the 1980s. In King's Bounty, you play a hero with the task to find the stolen Scepter of Order. A band of criminals has hidden this item and divided the map pointing to its location among them. Only by defeating all the criminals, you will be able to piece together the map and find the scepter, hopefully before it is too late and the kingdom disintegrates.

Mindscape 1991
Genre: RPG, Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

I have to admit that I'm preoccupied. In the good old Amiga times I haven?t played any game more than this one. After discovering it again I was instantly caught by its old magic.
The land of Trazere is swept by the waves of a mighty evil's dreams which flood the country. By hacking through dungeons the 4 heroes gather experience and get ever closer to their goal...

Origin 1991
Genre: RPG
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

In the Victorian age many celebrities that range from Marie Curie to Lenin have ended stranded on Mars. Now a second expedition, with a few more celebrities along the Avatar and professor Spector, is sent in a rescue mission.

New World Computing 1989
Genre: RPG
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Might and Magic II was a huge improvement over the first game of the series. The Graphics were pushed to their limits, the gameplay enhanced by a new skill and NPC system and the world even bigger than in the original game. It took me over three months of intense gaming to finish this one; something that can be compared only to later Might and Magic and Wizardry series. I keep playing the game until today. While I rarely finish it, I still enjoy the early stages of character buildup.

New World Computing 1992
Genre: RPG
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

A wizard appeared from nowhere and now declared itself Lord of Xeen. And your party should help the king to get rid of him and restore peace to the world through the sword.

It isn't a complex or deep game, it just haves a lot of enemies to dismember while exploring the land, its cities and the dungeons in search of keys that will get you to new places to clean. Few things will give you something that is not directly related to violence, just a few spells for travelling; or the skills, that may allow you to travel through different terrains, activate the automap or give you a natural compass.

New World Computing 1993
Genre: RPG
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Alamar, the powerful wizard and artificial being has declared itself lord of one side of the Xeen world. Now your team will have to get rid of him, but not before saving the queen from the undead life, restoring the castle to our reality and helping the dragon pharaoh, as only him can help you.

New World Computing 1987
Genre: RPG
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Might and Magic was created by a small group of people, led by Jon Van Caneghem in 1987, as the first game of the highly acclaimed New World Computing. The story behind releasing the game sounds almost like a fairy tale. After Might and Magic was finished, Jon Van Caneghem approached numerous publishers, only to be rejected time and time again. He decided to publish the game himself, from his apartment, and it turned to be a surprise hit, selling 5,000 copies the first month. After that, he managed to land a sweet deal with Activision, which enabled New World Computing to remain the publisher, and Activision only handled the logistics.

New World Computing 1993
Genre: RPG
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

World of Xeen is the union of Might and Magic 4 and 5, got from copying xeen.cc from MMIV to the MMV directory. The game gives you the two sides of the coin shaped world of Xeen to explore in your quest to wipe the evil out from it, and a third, and short, new adventure.

Mindscape 1992
Genre: Action, RPG
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

You, as a knight of the druids, have been sent in a quest for the moonstone, which if finished will give you a place between the legends. In your adventure you will have to fight monsters, a dangerous dragon and three other knights, which can be controlled by up to three other players.